Chapter 12 - The Policy
My life-insurance policy was ordinary.
A half-million dollars through work.
Lily was the primary beneficiary after the divorce.
Taylor had been removed.
"Why would Evelyn have this?" I asked.
Taylor shook her head.
"I don't know."
But she did know something.
I could see it.
"Say it."
"Mom asked about your policy two months ago."
"Asked what?"
"Whether it changed after the divorce."
"Why?"
"She said she was helping me plan financially."
The social worker looked up from her notes.
I leaned toward Taylor.
"Did she ever talk about me getting hurt?"
Taylor's face went pale.
"Once."
"What did she say?"
"She said your mountain driving was dangerous."
"That's it?"
Taylor looked at the floor.
"She said if something happened to you, Lily would be taken care of."
Cold moved through me.
I called Keller from the parking lot.
He listened without interrupting.
"We'll add it to the case," he said.
"Do you think she planned something?"
"I think we need evidence before we say that."
That afternoon, police searched the storage unit again.
They found an envelope of photographs showing my truck parked outside my office, grocery store, gym, and apartment.
Some were months old.
On the back of one photo, Evelyn had written:
THURSDAYS - LEAVES 6:10.
On another:
PARKS LOWER LEVEL.
I stopped reading.
"She followed me."
"Or had someone follow you," Keller said.
"Who?"
"We're working on that."
They got an answer faster than expected.
A private investigator named Marcus Hale admitted Evelyn had hired him during the divorce.
At first, he said it was standard surveillance.
Then he told police something else.
Evelyn had offered him cash to "create a situation" where I would look reckless with Lily.
He refused.
"What kind of situation?" I asked.
Keller's jaw tightened.
"She suggested putting alcohol containers in your truck before a custody exchange."
I sat down.
"She wanted to frame me."
"Yes."
My phone buzzed.
A notification from my home security system.
Motion detected: back door.
Lily was at school.
May you like
I was at the station.
No one should have been in my apartment.
